A Future, Brick by Brick
by Lyre of Sheliak
Summary: Set in the X-Men: The End timeline. Written for Lilith as part of Femslash Exchange 2019.


A couple weeks after the end of Katherine Pryde's first term in public office, she and Rachel Summers went walking by the water, or rather over it.

"Miss the job?"

"Honestly? Yeah. I do." Kitty let herself turn solid, trusting Rachel to hold her up as she skimmed the water with a foot. "Being alderman wasn't easy, but I think I did a lot of good. And anyway, I have so much free time now! I have no idea what to do with it."

"You're still doing good."

"_We_ are, you mean." Kitty smiled as she said that, but it was forced, tense.

Kitty's shields were too good for Rachel to pick up on anything she didn't want her to. But her expression was clear enough.

"Bad news?"

"Alice Tremaine—you know, the Purity spokeswoman who got elected to Congress a few years ago—she's running for Mayor."

"Congresswoman to Mayor? Isn't that a bit odd?"

Kitty grimaced. "Not really. Chicago is a big city, Ray; her whole district is just part of it. Is now, at least; who knows what'll happen after the redistricting. Anyway, being mayor would give her a higher profile, and it'd be a good stepping stone to governor."

"Who else is running? Sazanoff again, right? He's pretty popular…" Rachel trailed off. She had a hard time being optimistic about government at the best of times, and when Kitty was upset it was impossible.

"He's retiring," Kitty said. "Wasn't planning on it—health issues, I think. There are a few other people tossing their names in the ring, but… I think Tremaine's going to win. None of the other candidates are as well-known as she is, or as charismatic."

"But you are," Rachel blurted out. Then, because she'd already said it, "It's hard to beat a former superhero for either of those things. And you've got a good record here. You got that anti-telepath law repealed, remember? Here, in Chicago, as an alderman and before and after. You've stayed here and put down roots while she was off spewing hate."

Rachel had a hard time trusting human nature, or the government that had set Sentinels on its own people in the splinter future that was her past. But here and now, the people of Chicago liked Kitty; they trusted her. Rachel was a telepath: she knew that. Kitty's future didn't have to be her past. "You can do this."

"…_We_ can," Kitty said. "We can do this. Together."

"Together." Rachel liked the sound of that.

— — —

After the attack on the school, as Kitty reluctantly made her preparations to return to Chicago and a different, less bloody fight, Rachel found her. "Have a moment?"

"Of course."

"About Tremaine…"

"She can call me a monster all she wants. It's the only argument she has." That seemed to cheer Rachel up a little. But she was still oddly distant. _She's not coming back with me._ "…You talked to Scott too?"

"Yeah. Kitty, I'm going." To space, or to the ends of the Earth, or who knew where; her tone just said _Not Chicago._

"Of course you are." That sounded rougher than Kitty meant it too, with how tired she was. "Jean's your mom, of course you have to help her. Just… Come back to me, okay?"

"Kitty, there's nothing in the universe that can keep us apart."

Bold words. But Kitty let herself believe them, then.

— — —

Later, it was harder.

When Rachel's telepathic farewell drove her to tears with television cameras rolling; when a jolt of power like the end of the world rolled down their psychic link and her heart stopped for the stress.

She had always thought she'd know if Rachel was dead. Bot now, with their link scorched by cosmic fire… she had no idea.

Maybe this time Rachel wasn't coming back.

— — —

But Rachel made it home.

It took her longer than it would have, before, cobbling together bits of alien tech with the others' help, charging them without the Phoenix's power. (She could feel the absence again, like an ache, and she wondered what would happen if she tried to use it. _No_. She had had a choice, and she'd chosen something else.) Even with the new Majestrix's support, it was hard to find what they needed; harder still to get it working. And Aliya couldn't spare too much thought, right now, for one of her father's people. The Shi'ar had their own rebuilding to do.

Rachel hoped they'd build homes and schools, like Kitty was doing in Chicago. (She refused to believe that they'd lost to Tremaine. For once in her life, Rachel was going to be optimistic about human nature, or at least, the specific humans she lived and worked with, back home.) Not fortresses and armadas, this time around. But in the end, the Shi'ar weren't her problem.

The gate opened on ruins: the school. Of course that was the set of coordinates they'd had. But Rachel could fly home. So she hugged Kurt and the others goodbye, and took to the air.

— — —

Later that night, a tired-looking woman slipped unnoticed through the busy offices of Chicago's new mayor.

"Hey, Mayor Pryde. Got a moment?"

Kitty threw herself into Rachel's arms. "For you? A lifetime."

— — —

Later still, in Kitty's apartment, Rachel noticed something out of place: a rectangle wrapped in plastic. She picked it up, unfolding it gingerly.

"A brick." Rachel rubbed her finger along the edge, brought her finger up and sniffed. "And blood."

"That's my souvenir brick." Kitty grinned. "Someone tried to kill me with it while you were gone. I made a speech. And then I kept holding it on, all the way to the hospital. When I woke up Marie told me she'd kept it for me. After that, it seemed like a shame to throw it away. So I'm going to turn it into the foundation of something better."

A home, a world, a future.

Rachel wanted it to be _her_ future, too.

She'd thrown in her lot with Kitty already, but she'd always been dreaming of other places, other times. Now… Maybe it was coming so close to death, or maybe it was Kitty's mind right now, so bright and fiery and determined, but now she wanted this world, more than anything. She wanted to see what Kitty would make of it.

"Marry me?"

"Here I thought I was going to ask. I told myself, if I ever saw you again, if you made it back, I would…"

"And here I ruined your big moment."

"No. Of course you didn't." Why was this harder than giving a speech in public? "Of course I'll marry you. Let's build this future together."


End file.
